China is ready to work with Nepal to build an interconnectivity network across the Himalayas through ports, railways, highways, aviation and communications, Li said.

Nepal's Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli shakes hand with Chinese Premier Li Keqiang during a signing ceremony at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China June 21, 2018. Greg Baker/Pool via REUTERS

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Beijing: China and Nepal have agreed to build a railway connecting Tibet with Kathmandu, among a raft of deals signed during the Nepali prime minister's visit to Beijing, reports said on Friday.

Nepal is seeking closer ties and much-needed energy and infrastructure investment from China, which has flexed greater economic and diplomatic muscle in its Himalayan neighbour in recent years.

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang told Oli on Thursday he hoped that the two countries would begin negotiations on a free trade agreement "as early as possible", according to the official Xinhua news agency.

China is ready to work with Nepal to build an interconnectivity network across the Himalayas through ports, railways, highways, aviation and communications, Li said.

For his part, Oli expressed Nepal's support for China's Belt and Road initiative, a global trade infrastructure project, according to Xinhua. New Delhi opposes the initiative.

India, which has long considered Nepal part of its sphere of influence, has pledged its own major infrastructure projects to counter China's influence but Beijing still outspends it in the Himalayan nation.

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